Paper cuttings Bram Bosch
Since my youth my mother has told me about her grandfather Bram Bosch (1865 –1943), who was skipper of an inland transport ship, as well as paper cutter. Near my desk I have a cutting from a Roterdam newspaper of 20 March 1931, with granddad Bosch cutting figures out of plain paper (enveloppes etc.). "An artist in his area", the heading reads. We also had a few of his cuttings.
May 1940: Bombardment Rotterdam
In May 1940 the Germans bombed Rotterdam, and the ship of Bram Bosch in the Kolk harbour was damaged beyond repair. He and great grandma Bosch were taken in by their daughter (my grand mother). My mother and her brother had to give up their bed room for them. A few days later the Germans als bombed this house. "We were just able to flee the house that was in flames, not even taking the suitcase we had packed from the stairs", my mother remembers. "We lost everything".
The Kolk harbour after the bombardment.
After a few days of hiding the family was given shelter by the authorties in a school. My mother lived there for a year, from there she married at 17 years with my father. Granddad Bosch died in 1943, his wife shortly after.
Paper cuttings
Following the death of old aunts of my mother we received some 20 paper cuttings from my great grandfather. Here is a longer story and selection from his work.Usually Opa Bosch used scenes he saw around him for his paper cutting, on any paper he could find. Sometimes this was the back of a letter, or even the envelop. He also added simple, two sentence captions in rhyme.
News
Opa Bosch also followed the news. Below scenes from the Second World War 1940 -1945, what is left of the postmark on the bottom cutting says "1940".
Soldiers on horse...
...and man-to-man killing.
The jump from Hef bridge
One of his most famous cuttings is The jump from the Hef bridge in Rotterdam. This made headlines in the late 1930s.
There is nice permanent display of four paper cuttings and a picture of Bram Bosch in action in the Knipsel Museum in Schoonhoven.
© Dick de Jong, 2004
Dick. de Jong,
Uithoornstraat 33
1078 ST Amsterdam